{Facebook} + {Eventbrite} = Publish Your Event on Facebook

[pic via here::special thanx]

Eventbrite is a wonderful online event site that allows event planners to, among other things, create, schedule and publish their planned events at a cost that leaves a (giant) smile on their faces.  There are lots of other valuable tasks that this service offers, one of which is, the ability to publish your events directly from the Eventbrite site onto your Facebook Fan page.  No cutting/pasting needed!  You have, in the past, been able to publish your Eventbrite events to your Facebook wall...which means that eventually your event information will scroll right off of the page. 

Do you have an upcoming event that you want to let your Facebook community know about?  Create, schedule and publish it on Facebook, with a few (very few) points and clicks of your mouse.  What? You're familiar with this affordable service?  Check it out.  I love it!

What social media communities do you use to publicize your events?  Have your efforts on this/these site(s) been successful?  Are you already using Eventbrite to create, schedule and publish your events?

Lets Talk....

If I Tweet in My Blog... Does that make it a Twog?

Have you been dying to learn how to incorporate your tweets into your blog posts?  Well, I certainly have been flapping my wings pondering the process.  Email to the rescue!  Yesterday, this great tutorial landed in my E-mail - Embedding your favorite tweets into your blog.  Can I say that it's arrival was right on time?  The process seems a little daunting, so it will be a minute before I take on the task. 

So, here is my initial question - "If I tweet in my blog....does that make it a Twog?"

What's your thoughts?  Are you presently including tweets on your on blog? 

Let's talk....

Pingdom on Facebook

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Pingdom's describes itself as "Pingdom is a website monitoring service. In short, we monitor sites and servers on the Internet, alerting the site owners if we detect a problem".  The best of all the service is FREE, and we like FREE!  The sign up is effortless.  Account upgrades can be had for smaller fees. 

Link Sharing

I follow quite an amazingly well-educated, well-rounded, intelligent group of social media gurus.  These experts have their finger on the pulse of the latest trends, issues, best practices and resources that make their way down the social media pike.  And, although many of them have made the topic of social media their 'way of life', they never hesistate to pass on many of their pearls of wisdom.  Such is the case of Colin Welch over at Silicon Beach Training.  He has made available a pretty comprehensive link list of  "social media tips, guides, plugins, platforms, analytics, tools, apps and other great resources.  This list was original meant only for attendees of his Social Network Training and SEO Training course.  But by his own admission, "... but it would be mean of us not to make it available to everyone. Enjoy…"

And without further ado... THE LIST .... thanks, Colin

Search Engine Optimization:: Three Do's

[photo via here::special thanks]

Web marketing - Oh what a tangled web we weave!  The road to mastering the strategies that drive traffic (read-clients) to your site can be a seemingly endless trek.  Each strategy, has its own unique elements that create its own set of challenges.  This can definitely be said about Search Engine Optimization (SEO).  SEO requires that you think about the signals that the content and the structure of your site sends to your audience.  For most of us, this a different way of thinking.  In order to get human searchers to your site, your site must speak the language that search engines value and understand.

In an attempt to have your site found by 'the humans', here are three SEO Do's::

DO Speak Your Audience's Language
Make certain that the 'tags' that you use, are in the language of the human searching for your site.  Your site has a brand that you are marketing.  Your brand represents the style, or way of talking about your product/service.  The language of your audience should be mimicked in the tags that you use on your site(s).  The closer that you match the language of your site(s) with your audience, the easier you will be found by them.

Do Remember that Google can 'See' You
Because search engines have access to a infinite amount of information.  From URL's, registration and hosting information.  Search engines can see every domain, especially when they are linked to one another.  That being said, steer clear of attempts to use CSS code to hide keyword-rich SEO content.


          

                                                                                                                                                         

Do Design 'Crawable' Navigation

Search engines can not 'see' site content that appear on your site as images, video and/or flash.  What they do 'see' is plain text and HTML.  Javascript, cookies, filtering drop-downs, forms or CSS are unrecognizable. If the search engine can not understand the information on your site's page(s) and/or how to navigate through the site the pages do not 'crawl'.  Inability to 'crawl' ultimately results in no traffic to your site.

The tags that you choose to use to brand your site(s) send strong signals to the search engines.  The closer that your tags mimick the language of your audience, the easier it will be for them to find you.  Give your site/page the best chance of being found by remember that language is key.

What SEO strategies are you using?  What has worked?  What has not?
Share your successes and challenges.  
Let's talk...

Information as a Commodity

The power of the internet is turning information into a commodity. Because of this, it’s becoming more about your ability to use information to solve your target audience's challenges.  Providing relevent and insightful information helps to increases your business' value and brand equity. 

As the infographic demonstrates,  the ability to useyour insight and information to solve the issues of your target audience is key to setting your business apart from your competitors.  Engaging your audience through transparency and accessibility is key to building a strong brand.  

What are your thoughts?

Let's talk....

Facebook Can Get You Fired...

A 2009 survey conducted by The American Management Association and The ePolicy Institute, twenty-seven percent (27%) of companies have policies that directly address what their employees can post on their personal social networking page.  like to think that what they do on their own time is their own business, but that's not always the case.  According to the survey, two percent of companies have discharged employees based on the content of their social networking pages.  Businesses that boast having a social media/networking policy should be certain to apprise employees of the policy, its content and consequences.  That way they can't cry 'foul play!'

What are thoughts?
Does your company have a social networking policy?
I this too much 'Big Brother' for you?

Let's Talk...

Social Media Trip Ups

photo via here::special thanx

We've talked about some things that you have learned about your business presence on social media platforms.  With lots of  great "to do's",  it begs to ask, is there anything off limits?  Well, yea!  Here are some common mistakes to avoid when building your social media presence.  Oh. Yes.  These mistakes have been made by others, so they are - tried and true.

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  Using the same strategy on every site:: Every social networking site is different in its purpose and ultimately in how you should use it to promote your business brand. Because of these differences, you should  create a different strategy for each site you decide to engage in.  Your strategy should be customized to that each site’s specific rules and code of conduct.  Running a one-size-fits-all approach will limit your ability to be successful anywhere.
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  Fake Friending/Following/Linking:: aka Social Media Dilution.  You are selective and discreet in who you allow into your professional network.  In the best case scenerio of an effective networking event, there are a select number of contacts that do (and should) leave the event with your contact information.  This same practice should be exercised on the social media sites. Rock solid, quality relationships take precedent over meaningless accumulation of sheer quantity. Seek out the people who will be most vocal about you- those are your ambassadors. Then, reciprocity becomes the order for the day. Help them. Connect with them. Build real relationships. Put them in front of individuals/businesses/situations that will be advantageous to their business brand. This is how social media becomes powerful.  The reality of fake Friending/Following/Linking aren’t going to click your links, visit your site, purchase your products, or sing your business/brand praises. They actually won’t do anything for you. Be choosy with your online relationships.  It's your business.
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  Creating profiles everywhere:: claiming your username for the purpose of instantly securing your brand across social media sites is a definite 'do'.  Setting up a profile account on every social media community is a marketing strategy faux pas, not to mention, a total waste of your time.  Your business/brand presence should be front and center in the arenas where your users spend their time and energy, where they’re interacting most, and where your business brand will be most embraced.  Your visibility on these target sites will help to focus your efforts.
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  Not completing your profile::  a completed profile says that you are an active member of the community who is committed and genuinely become part of that network. A completed profile helps you attract like-minded businesses/members and gain some easy trust points- by letting those in the network that you are here to stay.  Tell and show people who you are. Yes, social media is where your customers are, but you have to give them a reason to want to engage with you. Put yourself out there in order to benefit from real conversations down the road.
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  Selling to everyone, immediately:: people are more likely to purchase from those that they know and trust.  If you immediately arrive into a social media community and start selling, no one is going to listen. You’re going to be ruled a spammer and you’ll not only receive a negative response, but you run the risk of permanently damaging your brand. Although direct marketing in social media communities is not impossible, to do so means that you have taken the time to learn about the community, to 'meet' the people and only offer your products/services when it makes sense.Most people do not want to be sold to.  Take the time to build trusting, reciprocal relationships.
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  Not measuring it:: before you get into social media, know why you’re there and what you plan to get out of it. What are you looking for? Increased buzz over a product? Better brand awareness? Blog subscribers? Traffic? How are you going to measure these goals? Whatever your metrics are, make sure you’ve identified them before you throw money into programs you’re not tracking.

These are just a few that I've seen.  What faux pas have you seen?  Let's talk about it....

   

I'm a Nonprofit...How can Social Media help Me?

{pic via here::special thanx}

For organizations that depend on the generosity of interested supporters, social media marketing is a natural fit.  Organizations that are deeply connected to their audience and memberships, (ie, theatres, musuems, 'relief and aide services', family focused organizations) have a tendency to have strong contact information on which to establish content and experiences.  This solid connection makes it far easier to generate social media  'conversation'.  The central points of nonprofits often times are the volunteer efforts and/or donor support of these strong contact.  People taking an active interest in what they do is the lifeline of nonprofit organizations.  So what are the challenges in marketing for nonprofits?

The for-profit sector is filled with products that we either need and/or want.  For example, people know that they need footwear.  Most people turn to manufacturers that they have had a desireable past experience.  Support for and the use of these products/services that are familiar to us is assured (at some level).

In the world of the nonprofit, it's not quite that easy!  Services such as The Red Cross aren't appreciated until and unless one finds themselve in some disaster situation.  Theatre &  musuems are not necessarily high on most lists of "Things that I can't do without".  The challenge to these organizations to maintain high level of community participation & visibility is grounded in their ability to consistently drive awareness and keep people passionately involved.

Because of all of its challenges, the use of social media platforms are an invaluable marketing tool for nonprofit organizations.  Because the success of, both, nonprofits and social media marketing is rooted in an active community, and is consumer driven- production is very low.  The basic principle of social media is that, 'if you have a product and/or service that is being used/consumed by customers-some is talking about your business.  Whether your business is a for-profit or nonprofit organization/business is not the issue as much as maintaining an awareness of what people are saying.  This is the common challenge for any business/organization servicing a market.  Social media platforms are the equalizer.

Do you have an experience in using social media marketing practices as a nonprofit organization?  What's your take?